7 October 2009
This city of app. 500,000 inhabitants, the 3rd largest city in Peru, at an altitude of 3,400 meters left us with mixed feelings. On the one hand the city provides a lot of evidence of its rich history, an impressive colonial square, many remnants of beautiful Inca walls - built of huge rocks fitted together without mortar, picturesque plazas and many interesting sites such as the former Inca Sun temple turned monastery. The splendid Sun temple, an Inca building adored with gold, was dismanteled by Spanish monks who built a monestary in its place. Only when a earthquake in the 1950's destroyed part of the monestary remains of the old Sun temple resurfaced and archeologists took an interest in it. Today, the site presents a clash of 2 cultures: the Inca and the Spanish.
On the other hand, the centre of Cusco is a bit of a tourists dump. People try to extract money from you at every corner on every occassion. Natasha felt more like a cash machine than a human being. Tourist shops, travel agents, tourist restaurants litter the streets, and these awfull kids in indigenous dress with baby llamas charging tourists to take a picture with them. On our first day, 2 of these kids push up against Natasha insisting that Gaudi takes a picture, which he does and then of course they want money so Gaudi gives them one Sol (app. USD 0.30). They insist it costs 2 Sol, but Natasha tells them to get lost. No one looks very happy in the picture. (Why aren't they in school anyway - our professor is ill, they tell us).
Two blocks away from the main square, the tourist area ends abruptly, and the streets are lined by shops for the locals, cheap eats, and the odd nasty smell. It's like a whole different city.
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